Referee Union Defends Female NBA Official After Chris Paul Comments

— -- NEW YORK -- The head of the National Basketball Referees Association is defending official Lauren Holtkamp after "personal and unprofessional comments" by  Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul.

Paul was critical of Holtkamp after the Clippers' 105-94 loss in Cleveland on Thursday. He received a technical foul from one of the league's two active female officials -- one of five called by Holtkamp's crew during the game -- for reasoning he later called "ridiculous."

The technical came with 10:17 left in the third quarter when Paul tried to get the inbounds pass quickly, but instead was T'd up after questioning Holtkamp.

"I think we have to show better composure, but at the same time some of [the technical fouls] were ridiculous," said Paul, who is president of the National Basketball Players Association. "The tech that I get right there was ridiculous. I don't care what nobody says, I don't care what she says; that's terrible. There's no way that can be a tech. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court, and when we did that, she said, 'Uh-uh.' I said, 'Why, uh-uh?' And she gave me a tech.

"That's ridiculous. If that's the case, this might not be for her."

The 34-year-old Holtkamp is in her first full season as an NBA referee.

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts backed the Clippers guard in a strongly worded statement Friday afternoon, saying any suggestion that Paul would be disrespectful toward women is "utterly ridiculous, outrageous and patently false."

When asked about the incident Friday before the Clippers' game against Toronto, Paul repeatedly said, "Last night was about a bad call." A team official then stepped in and asked if there were any basketball questions.

The referees' union says it reviewed the calls made by Holtkamp and "deems them fully justified." General counsel Lee Seham says in a statement the union "deplores the personal and unprofessional comments made by Chris Paul. She belongs."

?Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that Paul's comments are under league review, but one source stressed that the review was triggered per normal protocol, as the comments were critical of officiating.

Paul and several other Clippers players said after postgame interviews that their displeasure had nothing to do with Holtkamp's gender and everything to do with the calls she made on the court. The Clippers were unhappy with her calls in Thursday night's game and calls she made in a previous game against the Miami Heat.

Before working for the NBA, Holtkamp had six seasons of NBA D-League experience, including work in the 2013 and 2014 D-League Finals. She also has refereed in the WNBA, college and FIBA ranks.

She is one of two current full-time female officials in the NBA, along with Violet Palmer. Dee Kantner is no longer with the league.

The Clippers lead the league with 58 technical fouls -- including 11 by Matt Barnes, which is tied for tops in the league.

"It's bulls---, it keeps happening," Barnes said. "Some of these I earn and some of them I don't, but it's crazy to get a technical foul for pulling your arm away and a technical foul for saying, 'Just don't give them the game.' If you can't play with emotion, I don't see how you can play.

"I guess it's a reputation we've earned, and it's upon us to do a better job of trying to control our emotions, but you can't play the game at this level without emotion and without talking. It's tough, but the refs had nothing to do with the way we came out and performed tonight."

Arash Markazi, Marc Stein and Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.